KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 9 



and shale. It is one of the grandest illustrations of erosion we have in the 

 county. At a number of different places on this hill coal is being mined. 



In sections 30 and 19, township 33, south, range 25, east, there is the great- 

 est indication of disturbance I have noticed. In section 30, a ravine sepa- 

 rates two places where coal has been mined. On the south side of the ravine 

 the formations dip to the north, at an angle of from ten to twelve degi-ees. 

 Immediately north of the ravine they dip to the south, at an angle of fully 

 thirty degrees. The dip is greater than the incline of the hill; so much so 

 that a few rods back from the ravine the coal outcrops on the hillside, while 

 in the ravine it is fully six feet below the surface. Still farther north in 

 section 19, where the hill is considerably higher, the coal is again found with 

 a dip of about ten degrees to the south. Haifa mile to the northwest are 

 two more openings. At one of these the inclination is very plainly shown 

 to be about ten degrees to the south. The other one is worked in an east- 

 and-west direction, so that the dip cannot well be determined. 



North of the hill is the long and almost level valley of Shawnee creek. In 

 this valley there are at least two veins of coal, and probably three. At a 

 good many places an eight-inch vein is worked by stripping. A deeper vein 

 has been reached by almost every well in the valley. This vein is from 

 twenty to thirty feet below the surface. 



In section 11, township 33, south, range 24, east, a shaft has been sunk 

 sixty feet deep. The first coal found was a twelve-inch vein at thirty feet. 

 This seems to show an absence of the surface vein. At forty-five feet another 

 twelve-inch vein was found, and the workmen believe that at the bottom of 

 the shaft there is a "horse-back," which indicates a three-foot vein. From 

 what is known of these "horse-backs," this last supposition is by no means 

 established. 



On the west side of Brush creek are numerous surface veins. Not having 

 carefully examined them, a detailed description of them cannot be given, 

 but they probably closely resemble those already mentioned. 



The hills on the north side of Shawnee creek valley are less abrupt than 

 those on the south. I do not know that coal has ever been found in them, 

 but it would be no surprise to find thin veins corresponding to those farther 

 south. On the east side of Spring river, near Smithfield, is another place 

 where a surface vein is worked. 



The next vein noted in the order of deposition is the Weir City and Stilson 

 vein. This is the vein from which comes all the coal known in the market 

 as "Cherokee" coal. It is extensively worked at Weir City and in the vi- 

 cinity of Stilson. These two places in actual distance are but three and 

 three-fourth miles apart, although by the roads, which follow the section 

 lines, they are nearly six. Near each of these places the vein is shallow 

 enough to be worked by stripping. On the accompanying map the light 

 violet represents such places. The black squares represent shafts in which 

 coal is mined by tunneling. At Weir City there are three such shafts. There 



